Workshops

The Graduate School Professional Development Team offers a variety of workshops and events designed to complement your graduate education. Click the headings above to access resources and archived materials. Visit the calendar to see upcoming events and register:

New Graduate Student Orientation

The Graduate School hosts orientations for incoming graduate students each semester. These events equip new grad students with essential information and serve as an opportunity for students to meet new colleagues.

Graduate Student Assembly Events

The UTEP Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) is a registered student organization and ombuds service for all UTEP graduate students. The Graduate School partners with GSA to host social events throughout the year, including a semesterly mixer and an annual Family Day.

Dissertation Studio

The dissertation studio provides doctoral students an opportunity to have a period of focused time and support for writing the dissertation. As we all know, writing involves some level of discipline and commitment. We provide the space, the time, and the snacks; doctoral students come with the commitment to make progress on their dissertations. In addition to writing time, participants are asked to engage in active reflection of their writing process in order to develop effective writing skills and strategies that will lead to the successful completion of the dissertation.

Managing Your Research References

Graduate research can feel overwhelming when trying to keep track of all of your many different kinds of sources. It's important to keep track of sources so that you can properly cite them in your work. Our expert research librarians will offer tools and strategies for helping you manage your research references.

Overcoming Statistics Anxiety and Being Successful in Data Analysis

When you do statistical analysis or think about your graduate program’s required coursework in statistics, do you experience paralysis on data analysis? Do you feel anxiety that turns statistics into “sadistics”? Do z-scores bore you into ZZZZZ’s? Dr. Larry Lesser is a mathematics education professor who is nationally renowned for his outreach and research in how statistics content can be made more accessible and meaningful. He will share strategies for success based on his own times of struggle as well as on the extensive literature on the topic, including his book chapter (which is on reserve under Math 5364 in the UTEP Library) in the 2014 book Navigating the Doctoral Journey.

Writing the Dissertation Prospectus in STEM

Before the dissertation, comes the dissertation prospectus. An organized description of your project, the dissertation prospectus represents an important point of transition, and it must be approved in order to actually start writing the dissertation. Learn some useful guidelines for writing a prospectus in science and engineering.

Please note: This workshop will focus on writing in science and engineering.

Writing the Dissertation Prospectus in the Humanities

Before the dissertation, comes the dissertation prospectus. An organized description of your project, the dissertation prospectus represents an important point of transition, and it must be approved in order to actually start writing the dissertation. Learn some useful guidelines for writing a prospectus in the humanities.

Fundamentals of Dissertation Writing

Although writing your dissertation can feel like an arduous feat, it can actually be a manageable and fruitful pursuit. Let us show you how to write your dissertation with minimal stress and maximum success.

The Dissertation Defense

Defending your dissertation? Feeling overwhelmed by the task? Defending your dissertation successfully means demonstrating your knowledge, competence, and engagement in your field and your research. Let us show you how to prepare for and succeed in defending your dissertation.

Publishing Your Dissertation

Finishing your dissertation may be the final hurdle to completing your doctorate, but getting it published can be an important step toward your career. Come learn the steps to getting your dissertation published from an expert in publishing.

Time Management for Thesis and Dissertation Writers

You have a topic, your research materials, and hopefully, an unwavering deadline. Now all you need are the strategies to actually get your thesis or dissertation done! This workshop will provide time-management strategies to help you stay focused and motivated as you write your thesis or dissertation.

Writing Workshop for Master's Students

This first part of this workshop reviews basic strategies for writing at the Master’s level. The second part allows for time to review up to 2 pages of your academic writing. The archived materials below offer detailed information about writing in a business environment, APA format, and special considerations for MBA students.

How to Get Published in Scientific and Engineering Journals

Want to publish your article in a prestigious science or engineering journal? Learn about the key factors, considerations, and strategies involved in publishing in the world of science and engineering.

Ethical Research and Writing

Part of writing well at the academic level is to ensure that you are avoiding plagiarism by incorporating external ideas and material appropriately and documenting your sources properly. We will discuss these issues and do some hands-on practice for recognizing and fixing plagiarism.

Business Writing for Humanities Students

From memos and evaluations to blogs and tweets, writing in the business environment is a genre unto itself. Learn about expectations, norms, and techniques that will help you communicate effectively and avoid pitfalls in the workspace. This workshop was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Submitting a Successful GRFP Application

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported disciplines who are pursuing, or intend to pursue, research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Attend this workshop to learn about how to put together a competitive application for the NSF-GRFP competition.

Applying for the Ford Fellowship

Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculties and offers predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences (STEM). Although a highly competitive process, the key to receiving this (or any other) award is knowing what reviewers are looking for in an application and, in turn, writing a successful proposal. This workshop will pinpoint the various aspects of the application and offer suggestions on how to prepare the proposal.

The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories. Come learn about this opportunity and the application process at this workshop!

Note: The archived workshop presentation below also includes good tips for applying for grants in the sciences.

Grants 101

Financial Management for Graduate Students

Managing your money, credit cards, and educational debt can sometimes feel overwhelming. Attend this workshop that will address financial responsibility and planning for graduate students and learn about budgeting and financing your graduate education.

Versatile Ph.D.

Concerned about the academic job market? Thinking about non-academic careers or careers away from the bench? A new resource has been purchased for you that demystifies these careers, revealing many interesting professions that can utilize the skills you are developing in graduate school. Attend this workshop to learn about Versatile PhD, a web-based resource that you can use anytime, from any computer, confidentially. Please click here to learn about how to log on to Versatile Ph.D.

CVs & Resumes

These documents are essential tools for the construction of your academic and/or professional identity. Keep your CVs and resumes consistent, clear, sharp, and readable to maximize your opportunities on the job market!

The Elevator Speech

Not sure how to answer the perennial question: "So what do you do?" The elevator speech is a fundamental skill that will allow you to promote yourself and your work as unique, important, and exciting – all in 1 minute! Come learn this effective method of making influential connections with a lasting impression.

Professionalism for Graduate Students

What does it mean to be and look professional? Attend this workshop, delivered by our own University Career Center, to learn about the skills and the look needed to succeed in the professional world. This workshop will conclude with a brief fashion show, highlighting professional attire.

Time Management

Navigating graduate school or taking on any daunting objective (such as finishing graduate school) requires excellent time management. This workshop will cover tools and strategies to help you meet your biggest challenges.

The Academic Job Talk

Perhaps the most important part of the academic job interview process, the academic job talk is critical in demonstrating to a hiring committee that you will be a great fit in a department and college/university. Come and learn about the best strategies for delivering a successful job talk.